by Tim Neilson
“And get someone else to send the stuff to Slim,” Anna counselled. “As far as we know we’re the only ones who know about this, and there’s no point transmitting the information on email addresses that we think are being hacked.”
“You’re right,” Cam agreed. “Maybe it was a mistake to get us all together like this,” he added, somewhat guiltily.
“Perhaps,” Anna had to admit, in all honesty. “Don’t worry about that now. But let’s go back to taking whatever precautions we can. That can’t do any harm. Everyone make sure you’ve got each other’s numbers so we can all stay in touch.”
They all updated their phones’ contact lists.
“All done?” Anna asked. “Good. Tina and I will leave now, and we’ll split up. Hopefully if we are being watched that will keep at least two people occupied. James, give us five minutes and then go. Stick to places where there are lots of people and keep your eyes open. Text or phone us if you think there’s something peculiar going on. And keep your eye on your phone for once. Tina and I will work out pretty soon whether there are any risks out there, and if there are we’ll want to be in touch straight away.”
“OK,” said James. “I’ll wander around the market square for a while. I want to do a bit more thinking about all this.”
“Good. Stick to that,” Anna instructed him. “Unless Tina and I have to draw off anyone we’ll circle back there and keep an eye out for you. Cam, are you going to stay here?” she asked.
“I will for a while,” Cam replied. “I can work here for an hour or so, but I’d prefer to go back to the lab later if that’s OK.”
“That’s fine. Don’t leave until well after the others. Same instructions about watching your phone when you do leave, and if we’ve texted you to stay put, we mean it,” Anna continued. “Daniel, you wait, too, till five minutes after James.” She paused irresolutely. Daniel guessed that she was concerned about him venturing out on his own, even if she and Tina had checked the coast was clear.
“I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “I won’t wander down any dark alleys.”
“Well, hopefully no one paid any attention to you coming in, and when you leave anyone who might pay attention will already be following the rest of us,” Anna said dubiously. “But keep your phone handy as well. I’ll think about where and when we should rendezvous.”
Even though it looked as though his mission to help Cam had been a failure, Daniel didn’t regret his dash across the world. Disappointment at the outcome had negligible influence on his sense of satisfaction about having undertaken the venture. He waited his allotted time in a state of contentment, bade farewell to Cam, then strolled down the stairs and onto the lawns.
He gazed around appreciatively at the variety of picturesque buildings, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face. The College Chapel was, he knew, designed by the incomparable Sir Christopher Wren, so despite being an atheist he decided he might as well have a look. He sauntered along the path and unobtrusively sidled into the vaulted space. It was splendidly proportioned rather than ostentatiously grand, but Daniel had enough appreciation of architecture to admire how the natural light was used to such excellent effect. An old anecdote about his fellow atheist Francis Crick appeared, unbidden, into his mind. He had read how Crick had objected to a chapel being built at Churchill College where he was a Fellow. When it was pointed out to Crick that all the necessary funds were being donated and no one would be forced to go there, Crick offered to fund the construction of a college brothel to be operated on the same principle. Looking about him, Daniel had to admit it was unlikely that a house of ill repute, however well designed, would add to the ambience of an academic establishment as effectively as Wren’s chapel undoubtedly did.
The thought of the attractiveness of his surroundings turned his mind to Cambridge’s other visual attractions, such as the world-famous King’s College Chapel. He hoped they would all now be able to drop the secrecy that had kept him and Anna apart since he’d arrived, so they could visit some sights together. The recollection of Anna caused him to check his phone. There was no message yet from her. He frowned, wondering whether the lack of contact indicated she was busy dealing with some unwelcome attention from the undesirables she’d previously encountered.
He thought about texting or phoning to check how she was but decided he’d better not. With his electronic communications under surveillance, he hadn’t yet been given the all clear to get back into phone or email contact with the others. I’d better not initiate contact unless something important happens, he decided. Besides, if Anna did have some work to do, an interruption would be the last thing she needed. If she wanted help, she’d call.
But he couldn’t bear hanging around doing nothing. He’d been told to leave after giving James enough time, and so he wouldn’t be disobeying instructions by walking around in the hope of spotting Anna. If he did, she would no doubt see him, and she would undoubtedly then let him know if it was safe to join her.
He headed purposefully out of the chapel, intending to return alongside the southern edge of the lawns to the gate and out of the College. But as he was about to step out of the building he froze.
He’d never seen the two men before in his life. However, they matched exactly the description Anna had included in her written instructions. Could he be mistaken? He thought not. How many people would choose to wear suits on a warm summer’s day in Cambridge?
Daniel felt an intense desire to go up to them and start a fight. The joy of being able to throw a few punches in the right direction would more than compensate for the downside of probably getting beaten up and very likely getting arrested. But he restrained himself. There was no reason to assume the two men knew anything about him. Even if they did, there was no reason to think they knew he was alert to what they were doing. Daniel knew the value of not giving opponents information. In case there was more work he could do incognito, his best option was to stay out of trouble and out of sight. So, he realised with a start, he’d better not stand around gaping.
Luckily the two of them hadn’t been looking towards the chapel entrance. One of them was surveying the vast list of names on the stone wall commemorating the College’s war dead. The other was looking at something that might have been a guidebook. Just like regular tourists, thought Daniel. But, as Anna once told him, dangerous antagonists often tried to look inconspicuous until they pounced, although wearing those suits was hardly inconspicuous. Something didn’t quite make sense.
He ducked back into the chapel and sent a warning text to Cam. He wondered whether he should stay in the college grounds to await developments and maybe assist Cam, but instead decided to stick with his plan of leaving the College. If they followed him, he reasoned, he could send a message to Cam telling him to make a getaway, and it would also show his own cover had been blown. That would be useful to know, he thought grimly. He wasn’t quite so sure what to do if they didn’t follow him. Either way, he’d contact Anna and let her know what was happening.
He re-emerged and strolled casually along the pathway, carefully gazing downwards as if deep in thought, half-hoping they would accost him and give him an excuse to start a brawl. But they didn’t. He was reluctant to look at them and so he couldn’t tell whether they took any notice of him at all. He kept moving, feeling slightly uncomfortable at having his back to them. After what seemed a long walk, he arrived at the far end of the path where he turned and headed out of the gate. After he had walked a short way down the road, he paused, staring for a few seconds at St Botolph’s church just past the College. He allowed himself a sweeping view back towards Pembroke, noting with his peripheral vision that the two suits were not visible at the gate to the College. He wasn’t confident he could infallibly spot stalkers, even ones wearing incongruous suits, but to outward appearances it seemed as though they weren’t following him. He wasn’t sure whether that was good news. I should update Anna, he thought. He started walking slightly faster now, towards the market square,
pondering how he could sneak his next backwards glance.
He didn’t go as far as the square, since James would be there and, if the suits were following him, he’d rather not lead them to James. The best thing, he thought, would be to stay where he was, send a text to Anna and wait for a response. Once alerted she would know how to look out for James, and she would also no doubt have a view on whether it would be wise for him to go back to keep watch on the two intruders while Cam was still in his rooms.
In fact, Tina was already keeping a covert watch on James, in part because, as she had told Anna, she wanted to be sure he was safe. But it was also because of an impulse to direct her physical senses towards the object preoccupying her thoughts. It’s no use, she found herself thinking. She’d have to pluck up courage to seek the sage counsel of her big sister.
But not right now. Tina stayed unobtrusively out of James’s sight while keeping close surveillance on him and his immediate surroundings, ready to spot in an instant any threat. As her eyes scanned the scene, she suddenly tensed. Her heart raced. Her eyes focused. There, heading purposefully towards James, was Claudia.
Tina may not have been able to make a conscious decision about what to do with her life, but she instinctively knew what to do in that instant. She ran across to James, flung her arms around him and began kissing.
Tina was convinced, even amid the cacophony of the square, she could hear the rapid clatter of Claudia’s heels, and the sound grew louder as she approached. Tina tensed, adrenalin surging through her, as no doubt had happened since primaeval sexually differentiated species first became sentient and started competing for mates. Her physiology was preparing her for anything that might happen next. Except what actually did.
“I’m terribly sorry to intrude, I really am,” Claudia began, “but Cam needs to see us all as soon as possible. Oh, Anna, good, you’re here as well. It’s not inconvenient is it?” she asked anxiously, observing three faces displaying various degrees of stunned stupefaction.
“No, of course not,” said Anna, gathering her wits and trying to put her little sister’s bizarre behaviour temporarily out of her mind.
“Can you get in touch with Daniel?” Claudia asked.
“Yes, I got a text from him just before,” Anna said, still struggling to bring the whole situation into mental focus.
“Perhaps you could text back and ask him to go to Cam’s rooms,” Claudia suggested tentatively, after a couple of seconds.
“Oh, right.” Anna turned aside briefly to use her phone, and then she and Claudia moved off in the direction of Pembroke.
James was totally bewildered by what had occurred. He was, temporarily, lacking mental competence even to speculate on what might be behind the summons from Cam, let alone making even a simple decision about it. But the strong streak of conformism in his character assumed the status of default setting; unthinkingly he turned and followed Anna and Claudia.
Tina was just as befuddled as James, but for different reasons. She was torn between two impulses. First, she had a strong aversion to obeying Claudia, not because of any conscious suspicions but out of an instinct to regard a rival as a potential enemy and therefore as an object of mistrust. However, the second impulse, which proved stronger, was not to let Claudia be with James while she was absent. She strode after the others, still uncertain and therefore wary, still poised to react instantly to the next development, whatever it might be.
“Of all the rotten times for my phone to go dead,” Claudia remarked to Anna. “Cam asked me to contact all of you. Luckily, before my phone died, James told me where he was, so I decided it was most efficient just to go and see him and give him the message and get him to phone you and Tina. I’m glad you were nearby. Do you think Daniel will be long?”
“No, he’ll certainly be there before us,” Anna replied. “Sorry if I don’t seem to be paying close attention, but Daniel’s last message was a warning that we need to be on alert.”
“Oh, I’d hoped that that was all over. Anyway, here we are.”
They passed through the gates and trod the familiar path up to Cam’s rooms. The door of his study was slightly ajar. James stood politely aside to let Tina follow the other two in, and then entered himself, the scene inside adding to his bewilderment. Cam was sitting at his desk, while Daniel was leaning against it. The couch was vacant in anticipation of the arrival of the three ladies. And there, sitting in the armchair in the corner, surveying the scene with magisterial alertness, was Chester Derwent.
Chapter 16
More Changes of Heart
Cam made the introductions while James strove to clear his mind.
“What are you doing here?” Tina demanded with evident hostility. She may not have understood the scientific and legal background to her trip to the UK, but Tina was always meticulous about being aware of who were friends and who were enemies.
Derwent smiled.
“Dr Fletcher told me about your misconceptions. We’ll get to those in due course. But first I’ll take your question literally,” he said.
“I found out that the company were threatening legal action against Dr Fletcher, here. Normally, I wouldn’t want to get involved in that sort of decision making, but it seemed to me, even if we were legally in the right, it might make business sense to let it go. See, pharmaceutical companies get a bad press. People take it for granted that we’ll spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing a product, then all these social justice activists criticise us for not giving away the stuff for free, or for not letting someone else do it. If we did, we’d pretty soon be broke, and where would the next few hundred million for the new research come from? So normally we go hard on anyone who might be infringing our patents. We have to, just like a department store has to prosecute anyone who shoplifts a pair of socks. If you don’t, then everyone soon gets to know and then everyone’s stealing from you.
“But I thought, in this case, if we’re really not interested in the pain-killing application of the whole idea, maybe it would be good publicity to make a big show of saying that we’re going to help humanity by not enforcing our rights to stop Dr Fletcher. Maybe. There’s also the normal consideration of whether that sets a bad precedent and encourages people to try to blackmail us about other projects. I just didn’t know enough about the situation to be able to say. Of course, it wasn’t certain that I’d be able to do anything about it even if I did, but …”
“Why not?” interrupted Anna. “It’s your company isn’t it?”
“Not exactly,” Derwent replied. “I’m still the biggest single shareholder but I have nowhere near a controlling interest. Even if I did, I couldn’t do whatever I wanted. Other shareholders still have rights. And even though I’m officially the ‘Executive’ Chairman, the reporting lines have been very carefully crafted to stop me from running the show. Even in the old days I didn’t make many decisions about products. Jimmy did most of that. I was mainly involved in the finance and administration side of the business, although, the bigger the company got, the less I was involved even in that, let alone being able to control what we did with our intellectual property.
“And I can’t start now. An individual shareholder of my age can’t interfere with operational matters. It’s the kind of thing that makes the stock markets stampede in the wrong direction. Which is why,” he said, turning toward Cam, “I didn’t tell you about this trip, and why I didn’t make contact until today. I wanted to keep what I was doing a secret for as long as possible. If I hadn’t worked out what I wanted to do, I might have gone back to the States without ever having let you know I was here.”
“What would you have done if Cam had been away?” James asked, sinking gratefully onto the chair Claudia had fetched from her rooms.
“Well,” Derwent admitted uncomfortably, glancing apologetically at Cam, “there has been a certain amount of what we call ‘industrial espionage’ going on. Some of the staff at the company who handle that side of things are friendly with me, so I aske
d them to do some research about Dr Fletcher’s activities and keep their mouths shut about it. Anyway …” he continued, steeling himself to make his next necessary disclosure, “there has been a lot of investigation into Dr Fletcher. I uncovered the kinds of problems you were having with sabotage and potentially worse …”
“Surely you could have put a stop to that,” challenged Tina. Derwent smiled.
“Dr Fletcher told me that you all thought it was the company behind it. You’ve been watching too many Hollywood action movies!”
“Then who was it?” demanded an incredulous Anna.
“Follow the money,” Derwent urged her. “If our patents are good, we don’t need to do anything like that. Even if they aren’t, this heavy isotope stuff is one small project that isn’t even producing any revenue yet. If it turned out we didn’t have a monopoly, it probably wouldn’t even move the stock price down more than a cent or two at most. No one’s going to risk going to jail over peanuts like that.
“Think about who would stand to lose money by the truckload if there really was a great new way to kill all sorts of pain, like the kind a drug addict goes through while they’re in rehab.”
“Who?” asked Anna.
“The drug lords!” exclaimed Derwent impatiently. “They get almost all their money from repeat business. If it becomes easier for repeat customers to quit, they stand to lose. Big time. They’re already operating outside the law, pretty violently too, most often, so it’s not a whole new area of risk for them to try to scare Dr Fletcher into dropping his research.”
Anna nodded. His explanation made perfect sense. But then why, she thought, was Derwent here, if from his company’s perspective it was just a legal and commercial matter over which he had no authority.
“So,” Derwent went on, as if he could read her mind, “I’m not supposed to interfere. But I’m curious. The word from within the company is that Dr Fletcher is on very shaky legal ground, and there’s plenty enough on our side of the argument to scare people off funding him. And …” Derwent continued, “our intelligence alerted us to this Francis Crick thing, and our legal advice was that it was a dud. Crick never did nearly enough for it to be a legal worry for us. In which case we win. But as I said, us winning like that may not be the best outcome. I can’t see how we can get out of Dr Fletcher’s road without setting a precedent for every freeloader in the industry to start agitating for the same deal, but maybe there’s a way. So, I decided to do some research of my own. I arranged to come over here, to look at some of our European facilities, see some people in London, and just tack on a few days’ holiday. I figure that maybe there’s some things that Dr Fletcher knows that I don’t. Maybe I should see him, and if so, maybe he’ll be willing to see me. And here we are.”
